Former union official investigated by solicitors body

A senior official who quit one of the UK’s largest trade unions amid a police probe is now being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Howard Beckett, a qualified solicitor, was Unite the Union’s assistant general secretary and head of legal until his suspension in August 2022.

This was four months after police raided the union’s London headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged bribery, fraud and money-laundering. Court documents show Mr Beckett’s homes in London and the Wirral were also raided.

Mr Beckett has previously argued the claims against him were “baseless”.

He resigned from Unite in January 2023, brought an employment tribunal claim against the union for unfair dismissal but lost his case last year.

It is understood that the employment tribunal judgement prompted the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate Mr Beckett.

An SRA spokesperson said: “We are aware of this issue and are investigating before deciding on any next steps.”

The SRA has the power to fine individuals up to £25,000, or refer cases to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal which can issue unlimited fines and suspend, or strike off, solicitors.

A spokesperson for Mr Beckett told the BBC: “The Employment Tribunal case is now proceeding through the Employment Appeals Tribunal and separately Mr Beckett is suing Unite and [general secretary] Sharon Graham personally for breach of privacy. We are confident about the ultimate outcome of both cases.”

A close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Beckett was initially told his suspension was due to allegations of “misleading” the union’s ruling executive council in relation to the construction of its vastly over-budget hotel and conference centre in Birmingham.

The project, which is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, was originally estimated to cost £7m but £112m was eventually spent.

An independent valuation later concluded the finished building was worth only £29m.

Ms Graham commissioned an inquiry which, the tribunal said, led to the discovery of £14m which did not feature “in the final accounts and it remaining a mystery as to how and when this figure had been assessed and then presumably paid” to a contractor.

Mr Beckett was also told he had been suspended due to “concerns about the probity of awarding contracts for affiliated services”.

Mr Beckett was off work for almost 18 months before he resigned from Unite in January 2023.

His lawyer told the tribunal Mr Beckett had not been well enough to participate in a disciplinary hearing and the union’s disciplinary charges were “baseless”.

The employment judge rejected this, and also found Beckett had not been demoted as he had claimed.

The judge did say, however, there were “significant deficiencies” in Unite’s “investigation and disciplinary processes”.

Judge Nicolle wrote: “It would have been extremely surprising in the Tribunal’s view had [Unite] allowed its Head of Legal to return to active employment in circumstances where there were ongoing police investigations into very serious matters to include bribery, money laundering and offences under proceeds of criminality legislation.”

Ms Graham, who succeeded Len McCluskey as Unite general secretary in 2021, did not give evidence to the tribunal.

After the judgement, a spokesperson for Unite said that Ms Graham promised to leave “no stone unturned” when she commissioned two independent inquiries into the union’s previous administration.

They said: “The employment tribunal case involving the union’s former assistant general secretary Howard Beckett, which he lost on all counts, begins to allow the story to be told.

“We are also pursuing legal claims to recover money lost to the union and the general secretary has put safeguards in place to ensure that such things can never happen again.”